Bar count, cutting length and steel weight

Reinforcement layout

Estimate only — laps, bends and detailing follow your drawings and local code.

Estimated steel

Estimated weight
kg
Total bar length
m
Total bars
Bars along length
Bars along width

Bar mass reference

Nominal mass per metre for deformed bars.

Bar Mass
Ø8 mm Bar
Ø10 mm Bar
Ø12 mm Bar
Ø16 mm Bar
Ø20 mm Bar
Ø25 mm Bar
Ø32 mm Bar

About Rebar Estimator

The rebar estimator counts the reinforcing bars in a slab or mat and converts them into total length and steel weight. Enter the slab’s length and width, the bar spacing in millimeters, and the bar size; toggle two-way mesh to run bars in both directions, and add a percentage for laps and wastage.

The weight comes from the standard formula for round steel: mass per meter = d² × 0.006165, where d is the bar diameter in millimeters — so a 12 mm bar weighs about 0.888 kg/m and a 16 mm bar about 1.58 kg/m. A reference table lists the nominal mass for every common size, with your selected bar highlighted.

Use it to price the steel for a slab, footing mat, or driveway before ordering, free in your browser. It is a quantity estimate only: lap lengths, bends, chairs, and detailing follow your structural drawings and local code, which is why the laps-and-wastage percentage exists.

How to use Rebar Estimator

  1. Enter the slab length and width in meters.
  2. Set the bar spacing in millimeters — 150 or 200 mm grids are common in slabs.
  3. Choose the bar size and toggle two-way mesh if bars run in both directions.
  4. Add a percentage for laps and wastage.
  5. Read the bar counts per direction, total bar length, and estimated steel weight.

Frequently asked questions

From the nominal mass of round steel: kg/m = d² × 0.006165 with d in millimeters. Total weight = total bar length × mass per meter — a 500 m take-off of 12 mm bar weighs about 444 kg.

Divide the width by the spacing and add one for the starting bar: a 6 m width at 200 mm spacing takes 31 bars. With two-way mesh the same logic runs in the other direction and the counts are added.

Stock bars are shorter than most slabs, so bars overlap at splices — commonly 40–50 bar diameters per lap — and cutting always leaves offcuts. A 10–15% allowance is typical for simple mats; congested or heavily detailed work needs more.

Residential slabs commonly use 150–200 mm grids, but spacing is a structural decision driven by loads, slab thickness, and code minimums. Take the spacing from your drawings — the estimator only counts what you specify.

It is fine for budgeting and a sanity check on a supplier’s quote. The final order should come from a bar-bending schedule based on the structural drawings, since bends, hooks, and exact lap positions change the real quantities.

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